The Lunch Lady is a foodie at heart with a quest to share delicious, simple, wholesome food with anyone who wants to be inspired.

Monday, May 2, 2011

Strawberry Coffee Cake

We are getting closer and closer to strawberry season here in PA. Our season is in early June, usually.

However, we are getting the most amazing strawberries from California right now and with equally amazing prices.

I love pantry ingredient coffee cakes.

Flour, baking powder....the basics.

Let's talk about baking powder shall we? I use aluminum-free baking powder. Aluminum has been linked to
Alzheimer's Disease and cancer by several scientific resources. I try to avoid aluminum pots and aluminum foil (touching my food) as much as possible too.

Aluminum-free baking powder is readily available in most grocery stores.

Mix the wet ingredients.

This cake has a crumb topping.

Butter, flour, and sweetener.

Combine wet and dry ingredients.

Wash and hull the strawberries.

The strawberries will be sliced and placed on top of the cake batter.

I haven't used my springform pan in a while.

You could easily use a 13x9 glass baking dish as well. Or a bundt pan. I like to change up the shapes for variety.

Spray your baking pan with cooking spray.

Pour in the batter and top with the strawberries.

Cover the strawberries with the crumb topping.

Bake the cakes for 45-60 minutes till done. It depends on the cake pan so be sure to set a timer and test it.

Once slightly cooled, you can slip the ring off of the springform pan and it leaves you with a beautiful cake.

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In separate bowl, combine wet ingredients.Stir the wet into the dry, just till moistened.Pour into a greased baking dish. Top with sliced strawberries.Combine topping ingredients till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.Sprinkle topping over the strawberries.Bake at 375 degrees (F) for 45-60 minutes till done.